Never Let Me Go
by snogfairy
Summary: Just had your heart and soul broken by Igneel's death? Well so have Natsu and Lucy. [A Consolation Drabble.] [NaLu]


**SPOILERS FOR FT CHAPTER 414 BELOW**

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><p>"Natsu."<p>

He shook his head, a furious movement, like the needle of a malfunctioning compass. He was malfunctioning too. Out of control.

"Please."

Still no spoken answer. But finally, a turn in her direction: ever so slightly, and easy to be missed. Lucy didn't miss it though. She was alert, more alert than she'd ever been, despite her wounds and lack of magic. Natsu needed her. Needed her to be alert. To be there.

His fists were trembling. It took his all not to fall apart. He slammed them against the doorframe. Broken. Everything was broken.

This was what they had done to them; even in their defeat.

They had left behind a battlefield of scattered rubble and hopes and dreams. It still crunched beneath them with every step they tried to take, tearing open their barely healed wounds.

They all had lost so much.

It hurt. It hurt her too; so much, but she couldn't show it. Not now. Not with Natsu like this. His house was in the same condition as him: shaky, and crumbling.

She had to do _something._ Or she would break with him and all would be lost. Because how could she stay whole without her best friend? Without the one person who kept her together through everything? Without her coarse rock in the breakwater?

She would not let him go.

It did not matter that he still stood turned away from her, his posture a silent warning. She could feel her tears hot on her skin, and she knew with absolute certainty that they were on his all the same.

And so, because she knew not what else there was left to do, she lunged forward, throwing herself against him with all the force she could muster.

The force of her impact was enough to propel him forward, and she could hear the air escaping his lungs.

The contact was familiar, and she held him close, afraid of what might happen would she let go. But he would not let her go.

Lucy realized this with something that felt achingly similar to joy, and she relaxed against him while he still fondled her hands on his stomach, almost desperately so. He was still shaking, too.

"Lucy…"

Her answer was to bury her face in the nook of his neck, letting her tears spill onto his hot skin. It was blazing. He was burning up, almost as much as when she had grabbed him back then, trying to drag him away as he cowered and rocked over his father's lifeless body, screaming his name over and over. He had been long cold then.

It had been horrid. So, so horrid.

But her train of thought was disrupted when he stilled the aimless movements of his hands, and his whole body seemed to freeze. Then, gentler than she had expected in his state, he took her by the wrists and peeled her arms off his body.

It broke her for a second, but the pain she felt didn't last long. He spun around, and before she knew it he had pulled her against him, tugging her in and resting his chin on top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Lucy."

His voice was raspy, as if he hadn't used it for days. Maybe he hadn't.

Sorry? Why was he sorry?

"You're hurting too. I'm so stupid. I should have been there for you."

New tears were streaming down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. She could let go now. She was safe here. A sob shook her body, and she felt his arms tighten around her.

"N-no, it's… it's alright. Natsu, I… I'm alright. I'm so sorry. -…I missed you."

"I missed you too."

In the split second he had shown her his face, she had caught the tears falling from his eyes freely, like waterfalls, and she knew why his body was silently shaking now, against hers.

She brought her hands up to tug at his shirt, right between his shoulderblades, holding on for dear life. She could not tell him what was wrong, even if he could feel it. His pain came first.

"I'm so sorry." she repeated, and this time her voice broke. This time she was telling him about Igneel, about _his _- Natsu's_ -_ pain, and he understood.

"It's not fair!"

Lucy shook her head, knowing he'd feel the motion against his chest.

Barely restrained anger dripped from his voice, and by the way his fists dug into her sides she knew he was close to fallinging apart. But she would not let him break again. How many times could he do it before it was one too many? Before he would become irreparable? No risks.

She had to push herself up on her tippy toes, but when she did, and her head moved softly against his, she forgot all about her efforts. Her hair pushed against his own, and then she kept perfectly still as their foreheads came to rest against each other. He was still, too.

They stayed like that for a moment; she wasn't sure how long, and just breathed in the other's presence. This simple touch was able to convey more meaning than worlds ever could have.

"Never leave me, Lucy. Not ever."

"I won't. I promise."

It was a promise she meant to fulfill. Lucy realized it in that moment: she never wanted to be without him, no matter when or where. She needed him, and she'd follow him to the ends of this world and the next. As long as she had Natsu, she would always be okay in the end. And somehow she knew that it was the same for him.

Their breaths mingled in what small space was left between them. For this small moment, Lucy could forget her pain and her sorrow. She felt only his arms around her, his forehead against hers, his nose brushing against the tip of her own, where their tears came together. They were still flowing, but silently now, calmer. It felt soothing, this embrace.

She wanted to stay like this forever; stay in this little bubble of serendipity.

Together, they could work again. Fix each other, and pick up the broken pieces.

No matter how long it would take, they would be there for each other.

They had all the time in the world.

And they would use it.


End file.
